Here Goes
by impolite promises
Summary: Draco has lost a bet to Ginny, and now it's time to pay up. D/G one-shot.


Author's Notes: This fic is inspired by an alternate universe I've created with a friend, Ali (Stained Glass Rose) where Draco and Ginny work together in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and are, at this point, some form of friends. Other than that, all you need to know is that they've got a history of making bets and that Moreslock is their boss. Thanks for reading and please feel free to review or PM me directly to leave any comments / criticisms!

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She tugged at his hand, tired of his leisurely pace. She knew it wasn't pure leisure at all; he was trying to avoid this at all costs. He refused the moment she blurted the idea from her lips. The only reason she'd gotten her way was because of another friendly bet. It was silly, especially this time; the bet was so simple, so meaningless, yet the results would be anything but.

Once she announced the scheme to him and he greeted it with such disgust, she knew it had to happen. To ensure that it did, she waited for a bet tipped heavily in her favor – one she already knew she'd won. It was child's play to convince Moreslock to be on time for their weekly meeting with her hand sweetly placed on his arm and a slight pout to her lower lip. How could the blond _not_ see that she was going to succeed this time?

So, not for the first time, her wits (or was it her beauty? – she really didn't care) had worked in her favor, though she wasn't truly sure why she wanted to see this idea through so badly.

Anyway, that was how she found herself pulling Draco Malfoy down a grassy embankment toward a small, deserted lake. "Come on, Malfoy, you've lost the bet – and, well, you need to do this as a rite of passage, too, but I know you won't cave for that, so at least pay up for losing!"

Draco let out a groan at that, but she knew her prediction was correct; he would comply, if only because he said he would and though he hadn't been a Gryffindor, he was one of the most loyal people she knew. After one more yank on his hand, he pushed Ginny's away, but relented and picked up his pace until they stood at the lake's edge. "Now what?" he asked, eyes on the lake but smirking, she knew, at her.

"You know 'now what'," she replied, then pushed him to face to his right. "And by Merlin if you turn around, I won't even waste the time to get my wand and I'll come straight at you instead."

As she turned away and began to strip off her clothes, he retorted, "I can't see how that would be a bad thing, considering the circumstances."

"I swear, Malfoy…" she answered back and, in doing so, she caught herself turning her head behind her to address him. Which would've been normal under different conditions, but instead she caught a glimpse of him that she didn't mean to see – not that it was unpleasant in any form of the word. Instead, it made her breath catch more than jumping into the lake in a moment would, and she didn't finish her statement.

Draco didn't seem to notice her pause, or else, didn't seem to care, as he instead stated, "Salazar, Weasley, are you ready or not? I could've Apparated away twenty times by now."

Snide comments reeling her back in, she laced her fingers through the waistband of her knickers and answered only with a countdown: "Three, two" – she pulled the final piece of clothing from her body at the last possible second – "one!" She yelled the last number like it was her final word on earth, and she was so focused on plunging herself forward into the water that she missed Draco's millisecond delay, caused by giving her a once over before he, too, immersed himself in the lake.

Their heads both bobbed up at the same time yet they allowed the silence to engulf them both while they acclimatized to the water and absorbed the view around them. Though it was still pleasantly warm, summer was holding on by a thread and it was obvious from the leaves that started to fall from the trees.

Finally, Ginny broke the silence. "Well, what did you think? I know you'd ideally share this experience with someone you fancy, but…" She struggled to find the words to continue, but didn't need to. Draco promptly picked up where she left off.

"Who says I'm not?"

She felt her breath get muddled in her throat again, and she didn't have time to realize how close they were until Draco had her face gently between his hands. Ginny only had time to close her eyes before his lips pressed to hers in a kiss filled with more longing than she'd ever felt in her life. She did her best to match it, but her only real proof of that would be swollen lips. She had no idea how long it continued; she never would've wanted him to break apart from her, she realized when he did.

As he kept her face in his hands, he smirked at her – but somehow, in a kinder way than she'd ever seen before. "Any more items you're convinced I should cross off my bucket list, Weasley?"


End file.
